Bendy in Relic Quest
by Glitchwrites
Summary: The Ink Machine was a ancient device that could bring life back to the land when relics were offered to it. Each relic rested within a temple and those tasked with retrieving the relics must face the tests of the guardians. Though... one was cursed and sealed himself in stone after sending what wasn't cursed of his essence into the reincarnation cycle. Now... The newest chosen must
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, this AU was inspired by the questing element of another AU, but it is NOT that same AU. Now, just a note on updates for all my stories. I will update when the chapter is done, trying to hold myself to a schedule does not do any good for me.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Bendy and the Ink Machine or any characters that appear in this story that are in any other media.**

Chapter 1

The townspeople were all gathered in the square, watching with both excitement and fear as the lottery was about to be drawn. It was time to begin the search for the relics, but this one would be the most difficult. The Dancing Demon had been cursed and split most of his essence and threw it into the reincarnation cycle. According to the other guardians, he had been reborn and needed to be located to fulfill his duty.

As the mayor pulled the two tickets he smiled sadly and called out to the winners. "Bendy Azazel and Boris Lupus!"

Two friends shared excited looks at their names being called, and ran forward as quickly as they could, the taller of the two was a wolf that stood at six feet, while the shorter was just barely over three. No one was sure what the shorter of the two was, just had odd horns on his head, and a tail that ended in a spade. No one had seen a creature like him before, but he was so kind hearted that the town accepted him with ease. It helped that the family of one of the guardian's partners had taken him in.

As the two reached the stage they were handed a map and two sturdy backpacks. "Boris, look out for Bendy, and Bendy… please stay out of trouble."

The wolf just gave a small smile patting the head of the shorter, whom was pouting as he replied. "It's not like I try to get in trouble… It finds me."

"You mean you just happened to find Ms. Ellie's room filled with crickets while holding a cage that had originally held crickets?" Bendy just pouted more as the nearest townspeople chuckled, even the one that had been pranked couldn't help but laugh. The shorter one had always been a bit of a mischievous one, pulling pranks and getting into things he shouldn't. The spaded tail gave a quick flick as its owner just huffed before giving a wide smile.

"I'll stay out of trouble the best I can. And Boris will be with me every step of the way to help keep me out of it too." He gave Boris a bright smile and rocked back on his heels as the mayor explained it was best to go to the closest temple and that Bendy's adoptive family can point them in the right direction. Soon both were off to pack up and for one of them to get some information.

/

Bendy was grinning as he led the way to the closest temple, tail almost wagging. He hadn't been able to leave the village before, mostly due to his family worrying about what mischief he would cause if he did leave. "Isn't this great! We can finally get to see what it's like outside our village and travel all over the country! I can't wait to see the capitol! Oh! And maybe we can even get a glimpse of the ocean. I heard one of the temples is near it… And we might even get to see the people trying to cure the Dancing Demon's original body!"

"Bendy, calm down, we do have an important task ahead of us." Boris was giving his friend an exasperated look as they reached a small inn. "We need to set up for the night and rest anyway. Your mom did say there was a small market behind the inn here for those traveling to the temple. That forest that's on the map isn't easy to get through at all."

The smaller seemed to pause before letting out a sigh. "I know buddy… It's just… I've always wanted to leave the village… I've felt like I HAVE to, I have this need to see the world and everything it has to offer."

The wolf gave a small smile and just led his friend into the building and getting a room rented for the night. The smaller had gone out back to look around, pausing when he noticed a small band playing some kind of swing music. His feet led him over and he soon found himself skillfully dancing to a song he had never heard.

He didn't even see the crowd gathering to watch him dance, one of which was his own traveling companion. He continued dancing for several songs before the band stopped, thanking him and everyone for enjoying their music. As they were packing up, he looked at the now dispersing crowd to see his friend staring at him with wide eyes before running over.

"Bendy! Where did you learn to dance like that? And why didn't you tell me you knew how to dance?" Boris was almost bouncing on the balls of his feet as he spoke. While Bendy just seemed confused, he hadn't even really realized he had been dancing until the music stopped, it was like he had blacked out or something.

"I... don't know. I wasn't even really thinking about what I was doing, I was just moving to the music." He was frowning to himself, trying to figure out what could have caused him to just dance without even wanting to in the first place. He let out a tired sigh, he had worn himself out pretty quickly.

"We... can figure it out later, you just go head to the room and rest while I gather supplies for the journey." Boris gave him a reassuring smile. The shorter nodded and began to return to the inn. Maybe some rest was what he needed. He did tend to be a bit odd when tired after all.

Chapter End


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Boris walked into the room with a few bags, chuckling when he saw that Bendy was asleep. The other must have worn himself out dancing earlier. It had been a surprise to learn that his friend had a natural talent for dancing. He started sorting through supplies, placing the large bottles of ink he had gotten in the smaller toon's supplies and keeping the rations in his bag.

Bendy was pretty spacey at times and could just start snacking without thinking if he was allowed to keep the food. Once the supplies were sorted out he turned and looked at his friend, debating waking him to go downstairs for dinner or to let him sleep longer before they got food. He didn't have to think long as the other started stirring in his sleep waking up soon after with a large yawn.

"Sleep well?" Boris chuckled, head tilting slightly as he gave the other an amused look. Bendy gave a small nod and got up, tail flicking as he yawned once more. He jumped off the bed and stretched, letting out an odd trilling noise as he did.

"Want to head down for dinner then?" The wolf was a bit happy that his friend was relaxed for now. A nervous Bendy meant a large number of pranks at times. The smaller nodded and the two headed downstairs.

/

The two were packing up the next morning, preparing to continue their journey. They went downstairs, once finished, and waved goodbye to the toon running the front desk. They continued on their way, passing the time just discussing their future plans after reaching the first temple and getting the relic there.

"Well the next closest would be the temple in the mountains... but that guardian is missing." Boris sighed, glancing over to his friend in worry.

"We're saving that one for last anyway since finding the guardian's gonna take a lot of time. What about one of the ocean ones? We could go to the furthest one and work our way back." Bendy seemed to be deep in thought as he spoke, tail flicking from time to time.

"That's actually a pretty good idea. The way straight back would probably take longer than going from temple to temple since there are more checkpoints that way." The wolf was liking that idea. Plus the path straight to the temple had a few good towns they could pass through to bypass most of the checkpoints. It was a roundabout way to go too. Since the checkpoints were mainly between their hometown and the furthest temple.

The smaller was just looking around, letting his friend plot the path. The fields they were passing through were so flat and seemed to go on until the mountains on one side and the forest up ahead. The tall grass seemed to sway like an ocean on both sides of the path, captivating him for some time. The swaying revealed that in the grass, some flowers and small animals had made their homes there. Little yellows and reds could be seen from time to time between the blades of green and it amazed him.

This was nothing like the wheat fields around the village. There, it was always just waves of yellow on windy days like this one, but here... it was so colorful and beautiful to him. He just grinned when he saw a few birds in the grass at a particularly strong gust, just a few robins looking for food it seemed.

It only took around four hours, with a few breaks to rest and rehydrate, for them to reach the forest. The trees seemed impossibly tall, towering over the two like silent sentinels for the temple. Bendy seemed to almost be bouncing in place, a wide grin on his face. "So this is it huh?"

"Yeah, once we set foot in there... we'll really be starting our journey... We should probably eat before we do though. I've got some jerky and some preserved fruits. That should be enough to give us the energy to get through part of the forest." Boris already set his pack down and was pulling out some of the food rations he had divided into meals prior to leaving. He handed one to his friend and began eating his own.

"Part of the way? How long will it take to even reach the temple?" The smaller was frowning now, having thought it wouldn't take too long to get there.

"It's a three days' journey from the inn to the temple, and there are wild animals like bears in there... so it could take longer if something dangerous lives close to the path that we need to avoid." The wolf seemed to be deep in thought. "I've got some more wild cousins that will at least keep the pack that lives in these woods away, but I don't know how they'd react to you... you know how animals get when you're too close."

Bendy just shuddered slightly. "I don't get why they don't like me. I'm always nice and trying to give them food so they won't freak out, but it never works!"

Boris just shook his head finishing up his food as his friend started on his own. It would give him time to study the map since the other always ate slowly. As he looked over it a frown crossed his face. A path he knew wasn't on the map seemed to have been drawn in, leading through an area he knew was infested with lesser demons. A shiver of fear went down his spine. The path was even designed in a way that would make it seem like a shortcut.

"Someone tampered with the map... They added a 'shortcut' through lesser demon territory."

Bendy froze at that, eyes going wide. He knew of the other's phobia of demons... and the idea that someone had tried to trick them through demon territory angered him. How dare someone try to put them into an area that would cause his best friend to panic.

"It... would take a full day off of the journey... and we do need all the time we can get to... find the missing guardian." Boris seemed terrified but determined. "You've been good at getting demons to behave... so maybe you could get them to stay out of our line of sight... I can send you ahead into the territory to talk to them. Then... I won't have to worry too much about seeing any of them."

"Boris... maybe we should stick to the normal path. It's safer and we won't have to worry about them trying to mess with you." Bendy wasn't going to stand for his friend forcing himself through a situation that terrified him.

"No. We have to save as much time as possible! The Ink Machine needs to be started soon, and finding the missing guardian's going to take who knows how long! We can't afford to not take any shortcuts!" Boris' voice sounded stronger now, and he seemed like that determination of his might be able to get him through that demon infested territory. "It's a day's walk away anyway, so I have plenty of time to prepare myself mentally for the possibility of seeing a demon."

Bendy let out a tired sigh and nodded. When it came down to it... Boris could be extremely stubborn... and he could see that this was going to be one of those times. "Alright. But if you start panicking, I'm dragging you back to the main path no matter what."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Bendy was silent as they made their way through the forest, worrying for his friend. Tomorrow, they'd reach demon territory and he knew Boris feared them. Going there, even if he could talk them into leaving them both alone, was a mistake in his opinion. Demons could be very cruel and unless a deal was made, they could go back on their word. They were manipulative and only did anything for their own gain.

"You know... we could go back to the main path. It's a lot safer and there's no guarantee that the demons would even let us into their territory." His eyes showed just how uncertain he was with this plan still.

"Bendy, this is the fastest path to the temple. I already said we need to get the other relics as soon as we can. It'll probably take ages to find the missing guardian too." Boris' tone was shaky, but determined. He was going to go through with this plan no matter how terrified he is.

He knew they didn't have as much time to travel to each temple as the previous quests, and this, in his opinion, was the best option to get to the temple and ensure they have at least an extra day for their journey. Time was precious now and couldn't be wasted for even a second. "We've got a full day before we get to that part of the forest anyway. We can prepare a plan."

Bendy just sighed, another attempt at talking his friend out of this plan failed, and pretty soon it would be too late to turn back to the original path. He looked at the ground and just started praying that he'd be able to talk those demons into staying out of sight and the way. "We're going to have to plan this carefully... And we might need to trade something we have in order to get them to agree to leave us alone."

"We'll have to look through our items for anything we could part with that wouldn't make this journey more difficult for us." Boris seemed somewhat pleased that the other was fully agreeing to the plan now. He had faith that the shorter could do something to convince those demons to leave them both alone. For now, they just had to make it as far as they could before sunset.

/

Bendy sighed as he tended to the fire while Boris sorted through their supplies. He just hoped he had something the demons would want. He let out a soft sigh, shifting to rub at where his neck would be if he had one. It had been something that always confused himself and the rest of the village, and tended to scare most friends away. At least, until he met Boris, who thought it was cool he could take his own head off without any risk to himself.

"Hmm, maybe they'd want this book I brought on the guardians... I know one of them is a demon... Don't demons like knowing more about the stronger ones?" The taller shifted, holding up the book he had found in the other's bag.

"Yeah... that could work." The shorter hummed softly, shifting in his spot so that he was in a more relaxed position. "Mom gave that to me, so it's pretty sentimental, demons like taking items that are important to someone too."

"Hopefully they want the book then... I know we have a couple more items that are important to us." Boris glanced down at his shirt, there was a small lump that contained a locket that his father had given his mother once before he died. He also know that the bandana Bendy had around his neck was something his family had hand-made for him, so it was just as likely to end up as what the demons wanted as the book or locket.

"We should sleep, we've got a lot of walking to do tomorrow... and we'll need all the energy we can to try and barter with the demons." The shorter seemed to just be resigned now. Lying down on the sleeping bag and shutting his eyes. The taller gave a silent nod and put the few items he still had out away before settling into his own sleeping bag and just staring at the fire for a few minutes before drifting off.

Bendy just stayed awake a while longer, eyes searching the area before he too fell asleep. His dreams were uneasy ones, of darkness and fear of his own self. Dreams he hadn't had for a long time, but dreams that did not wake him.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Bendy slowly entered the demons' territory alone, eyes darting around as he tried to spot any of them. So far they seemed to not want to come out at all. He had several items in his bag that could be used for a trade. As he walked further in he felt the sensation of eyes on him. Soon small figures darted out of the foliage and surrounded him on all side. A somewhat larger one stood in front of him, eyes wary. "Why you here?"

"I want to make a trade for safe passage for myself and a companion. This route is a much faster path to the temple." He could hear chattering coming from the other demons but stayed focused on who he assumed the leader was.

"A trade? What you have of value?" Lesser demons did have trouble speaking mortal tongues as usual it seems. Though this one spoke it better than others he had met.

"Items that are important to me and my companion... and a book with information on the guardians... One is a demon so that could be useful to you."

"Can't read..." The demon was looking in the bag before glancing at Bendy, now smirking. "Want bandanna."

He froze up before removing it, ignoring the confused sounds at seeing his detached, neckless head. "That's a fair trade. I want your word that my companion and I will not see even a glimpse of any of you in exchange for this though."

"Have my word. Will be hidden until you leave."

The two shook on it and the bandanna was handed over. With a nod he turned and left the territory to get Boris, hearing the demons moving to stay hidden. "They wanted that one, huh?"

The wolf seemed to look guilty. "I've got spares, I'll put it on once we're through this part of the woods."

The smaller smiled reassuringly and started urging his friend to start walking. The journey through the territory was uneventful, though both knew that the inhabitants were watching them very closely. Once they were out of the territory they both broke out in a run to put some distance between themselves and the territory in case the demons wanted to show up. It could have been obvious that the taller of the two had a phobia, and those things love to torment others.

Once far enough away, they both stop to rest, breathing heavily. Bendy sat down on a nearby rock, taking a bottle of water from his bag and drinking a small amount of it. "At least we got that over with."

"Y-yeah, we're just a little under half a day's walk to the temple..." Boris was on the ground, trying to catch his breath. He didn't run like that often after all. "At least we don't have to go back through there on the way back."

"That's... good." The smaller of the two was digging through his bag, trying to locate his backup bandanna. Though it seemed to be buried under everything.

"Bendy, why do you hide the fact that your head's detached. There are people out there completely lacking any limbs except feet and hands after all."

"Well... it's still rare to see... and I've gotten looks from tourists like... I'm something bad, just for not having a neck. Especially if I'm holding my head in my hands and not keeping it on my shoulders." He shrugged as he found it and put it on, hiding his lack of a neck once more. "We rest for an hour and get moving okay? You need a bit of time to calm down after going through demon territory after all. I know how you get."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The two reached the temple after several more hours of walking a feeling of relief filling them at seeing it. It was kind of a relief that they had made it. Though with the sun setting, it would probably be best to wait until morning to enter the place. Bendy started setting up a campfire as Boris prepared the sleeping bags. "Well, at least we arrived a day early... even if you did need to give up your bandanna to get us through that place."

"Yeah, but now we won't have to worry about demons for most the journey... The only one we'll willing be dealing with after this is the missing guardian." The shorter smiled as a small flame sparked and began spreading through the wood gathered for their fire.

"Did your family ever tell you what the guardian of this temple is like?" The taller was gathering supplies to make a simple stew for dinner. After two days of jerky and dried fruits, something cooked would be nice.

"Oswald? He's a bit harsh, but he cares about his duty a lot and he wouldn't keep us from the relic no matter how much he doesn't like us. He... also seems to refuse to dress up for the part he plays in our quest, so he'll probably be in normal clothes." Bendy shrugged lightly, leaning back on his hands.

"Huh, he seems like he'd be a good first guardian for anyone to meet, he's serious, but doesn't seem like he's someone unapproachable at first glance." Boris nodded now setting up a pot of stock to boil over the fire. Though after a few minutes he jumped when a rabbit joined them, taking a seat on a nearby log.

"It's rude to talk about someone where they can hear you." The newcomer's tone was a bit harsh, but not angry. "You're lucky it wasn't something bad or I'd make you go through a much harder trial tomorrow."

"Hi, Uncle Oswald." The shorter of the questers smiled, tail flicking. He had been adopted by relatives of Oswald's girlfriend after all. It's not surprising that he knew the rabbit.

"Oh Bendy, your mom did contact me saying you were one of the ones sent to gather the relics..." The Guardian seemed to fall deep into thought, not speaking up until the other ingredients of the stew were already cooking. "I think you guys will have an easier time finding that missing moron. Maybe he'll have learned to not prank us other guardians as much with the whole reincarnated thing."

"Heh, or he'll be an even worse prankster." Bendy was snickering at seeing the now exasperated look on Oswald's face.

"That's it, you get a harder test while your friend can just watch."

Boris held back a laugh at that, seeing his best friend now whining to the one he called uncle. It was nice being able to meet relatives of the family that had raised the shorter. He did have to cut in when the stew was done, offering the guardian some as well.

"Man, you're a better cook that I thought you would be." Bendy seemed pretty happy with the meal, even if he did get a light bat from the rabbit for his choice of words.

"That sounded almost like an insult Bendy, try and think before you speak."

The wolf laughed a bit, rubbing the back of his head nervously. "It's fine, I know what he meant by that."

The three continued just chatting after that small exchange, the tallest of them relaxing more and more. This guardian had always been referred to as the harshest outside of the missing one, but he seemed like he had a side to him that was very kind. It was a relief to know that not all those rumors were true.

"Well... I'd invite you to sleep in the temple, but as guardian, I have to test you the moment you set foot in there. But this area is safe. Be-... the missing one put some pretty powerful protections around this place so that nothing that meant harm to me or anyone near here would be able to get within a mile of the place."

"That's... reassuring actually." No one had ever said the name of the missing guardian, not even the books had his name for some reason. So Boris was actually pretty interested to know even part of that name. He wondered if the guardians were aware of where the reincarnation was, but couldn't tell anyone due to the circumstances that led to said guardian having to be reborn.

Well, he and Bendy would find that guardian no matter what, they had to or the land itself would die without the Ink Machine. He got comfortable, saying a goodnight to Oswald as the other returned to the temple. Tomorrow would be the day they get their first relic, and from there, things would only get harder. Each test would be harder than the next, based on how many relics they had.

Bendy climbed into his sleeping bag and drifted off pretty quickly. Boris doing the same soon after. Tomorrow was a day they'd need all their energy for after all, no matter what, tests were always challenging in some manner. He didn't know what Oswald's test would focus on, but he knew it wouldn't be easy.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Bendy was the first to wake up, body sitting up and leaving his head on the pillow. He sleepily blinked a few times before grabbing his head and returning it to float above his shoulders. He always felt weird not having his head there, like there was something nagging at the back of his mind. He sometimes got the urge to mess around with people using the detachment as a prank. Things like juggling using his head, bowing while removing his head like a hat, or even just taking it off for no reason while talking to someone, just to see the reactions he'd get. He never followed those urges, ignoring them in favor of other pranks to push the idea out of his mind.

He let out a small sigh and looked around, seeing that the sun was just starting to rise. Why did he wake up? He's normally the type to sleep in after all, so it didn't make sense for him. There was something involving a dream, but it was just... odd for him like he couldn't place the source of it. For now, he'll just push it to the back of his mind and just get his stuff packed away. Boris would probably wake up by the time he's done anyway.

As he finished packing his back Boris finally woke up, giving the other a somewhat confused look before understanding dawned on him. "Nightmares?"

"Yeah."

The wolf got up and started reheating the rest of last night's dinner for breakfast. Bendy just moved to start packing his friend's bag for him. They needed to start the trial as soon as possible, the faster they get through the temple, the faster they can get the relic and start heading to the furthest temple.

He finished packing what was out beside the pot with the stew and what they needed to eat when breakfast was ready. He sat down by Boris with a small sigh and took his bowl. He slowly ate, thinking over what the trial could be for him and Boris... Only one of them needed to go through it in order to get the relic, two were always sent as a precaution in case the first failed. Depending on what the trial was, he'd either go first, or Boris would.

It didn't take long for them to finish eating and once everything was washed, it was packed up and they made their way into the temple. It was lit by torches and the walls had carvings showing the Ink Machine reviving the land and how the relics were held in the temples. Soon they found themselves at a door, and the wolf moved forward to push it open, revealing Oswald standing by an obstacle course.

"Well, you two got in pretty early. Thought you'd both be in a bit later with what I've heard about Bendy." The rabbit had a teasing tone as he spoke, making the horned one pout in response. "Anyway, as you can both see, one of you needs to get one part of you to the other side of this course."

That made Bendy blink as he examined the course... he could actually see a good place he could toss his head from that might be able to reach the end. He gave Boris a confident grin and stepped forward when he got a nod in response. "I'll go first."

"Alright. You've got fifteen minutes to get through." The guardian smirked and watched at the smaller darted forward. He weaved his way under, over, and around columns, stones, and platforms before stopping at the location he had taken note of. He removed his head from its spot and gave a hard throw, wincing slightly as the part hit the ground on the other side of the course.

"You never said we had to go through the entire course!"

Oswald let out a laugh watching as Bendy's body slowly moved to retrieve his head. "Looks like you noticed that little loophole huh? Didn't expect you to throw your head like that though. Ortensia said you didn't like showing it was detached."

The smaller sighed as he was back together again and looked over to where his friend was grinning at him. "Well... with that time limit I didn't think I'd make it, so I did what I needed to."

The rabbit nodded, leading Boris through a path to bypass the course and join the horned one. Once together, he lead them into a side room where a paintbrush rested on a pedestal. "Here it is, the relic. Take it and head on to the next temple of your choosing."

Boris walked over and retrieved the item, placing it in a special case he had purchased at the inn and securely placing it in his bag. If they stopped in any towns he would keep the relic very close at all times. He returned to stand by his friend, who seemed to be deep in thought. "Umm... You wouldn't have any clues on how to find the missing guardian would you?"

The smaller's question made the other two blink. The rabbit sighed, rubbing the back of his head. "Well... it's well-known that he's a demon, he's a creative one that's an amazing dancer. He got along with Alice pretty well, odd considering the fact that she's an angel. He got on my nerves though with his pranks... so you'd probably have luck looking for a skilled dancer that likes to pull pranks... Though Alice might be able to give you better advice on where to find him than I would."

Boris nodded, frowning a bit. He wasn't looking forward to finding a demon due to his phobia. Bendy let out a sigh, that didn't give him any better ideas to narrow down the search at all. He said his goodbye to Oswald and he and the wolf headed out, now making their way out of the forest to their next destination.


End file.
